luecarrolorefandomcom-20200215-history
Lossi
Dwelling in the caverns of Voshniuk, the cave globe, the Lossi are both feared and loved, having the venomous fangs and beautiful silk of the spiders they were corrupted from. This eight-limbed race spins out a living in silken cities, the luminous strands drawing all varieties of prey into their webs. Physical Characteristics Lossi have surprisingly human features compared to their spider cousins, having a round face with wide, curious eyes. Eight of them. They have no nose, mouth containing the organs for both taste and scent, as well as a set of poisonous fangs and mandibles. Their neck, a few inches longer than the a human’s, leads to a slender torso devoid of mammalian or even vertebrate marks, lacking nipples, a belly button, or the occasional bump of a rib and ridge of a spine. Because of course, they lack bones entirely. Their velvety silver-blue skin, soft though it feels, is surprisingly tough, acting as an sort of exoskeleton. Branching off the torso are six arms, three on each side, and two legs in the usual place. These limbs are slender like the rest of their body, the fingers especially long and thin. In the palms of each hand are spinneret glands, marked by a raised bump somewhat darker than the rest of the skin. Their “hair” has a similar texture to insect legs, a chitinous and jointed strand, always appearing a dark brown color. They completely lack other facial or body hair, though they have jointed. carapace plates on parts of their bodies. This blue-black carapace grows on their outer forearms and the backs of their hands and fingers, coming to claw-like points. A jointed length of it grows on their backs and necks, stopping at the hips. A boot-like section of carapace plates their lower legs and feet, stopping just above the knee. Their more skin-like surfaces, while tougher than human skin, are vulnerable to the normal dangers, like sharp objects and fire. The tough, smooth carapace growths are much more durable, stopping most blades and only cracking when hit hard with blunt force like a warhammer. Cracked plates slowly regrow over the course of weeks, but must be wrapped in silk to ensure proper healing. Silk Weaving Using their spinnerets, Lossi can weave many types of silk. If they don’t weave any silk, but ooze the sticky fluid used to make it, they can use their now-sticky hands to climb horizontal and even vertical surfaces. The more common uses are rope silk, a thick and durable type that’s used in Lossi architecture. Common silk, a thin yet strong type used in most of their webs and for weaving clothing and bandages. Sticky silk is used in their predatory webs, similar to common silk except the silk still retains the sticky feeling of the web fluid. The final form is a luminous silk that can have the characteristics of all other silk types, sticky luminous being the most popular combination given the bait it sets for others in their predatory webs. Subraces (Forest subrace- Shorter and stockier, darker skin, furry) Mental Characteristics Lossi have a very self-centered mind, seeing others, even their leaders, as barely real people. To a non-slave class Lossi, a crowd of their own kind is like a pile of rocks. The only people Lossi will be able to understand and see as people are the ones closest to them, their immediate family and possibly a few close friends. This would seem completely sociopathic to humans and just about every other race, who see and understand strangers as beings with their own personality and history, hopes and desires. To the Lossi, this is an alien concept. The only reason Lossi aren’t complete loners is mutual need and the society ingrained into their minds by the High Elves. Lossi do not marry, though they have a romantic partner that is often for life. Children are raised to adulthood, at the age of fourteen, and then typically leave their parent’s home to live elsewhere. Populations Lossi are inhabitants of Voshniuk, and live in nest-like communities. Recently, they’ve begun to journey outside these nests and into other globes. Society Lossi society is strictly class-based, ranging from slaves to nobility. These societies are located in massive nests woven between the rock spires of their cavernous globe with rope silk. Even in these twisting, maze-like halls, there are distinct levels based on social standing. At the very bottom are the slaves, Lossi unfortunate enough to live their entire lives as playthings to the rest of the nest. These poor beings are covered in brands, identification tattoos, and heavy scars from a lifetime of abuse. On the next level are the peasant class, not slaves but still servants of the upper classes. Their lives are spent tending to the webbing making up the nest, or performing other jobs, and occasionally losing an arm or three in the process. Above them are the wealthy Lossi, who live in luxury only surpassed by the nobility. Their lives are spent in leisure, commanding the slaves to commit unspeakable acts for their personal amusement. At the very top level are the nobility, Lossi who rule over all other classes. They are barely different than the wealthy in terms of lifestyle, but they have the power to come together and vote for the future of the nest. Given how little regard Lossi have for anyone but themselves and the few close to them, the nobility is nearly always corrupt, and vote for their personal interest rather than what would be best for the others. In wealthy and noble castes, romantic partners are very common. They are less common in the peasant cast who mostly intermingle at random. The slave caste are bred like livestock, which they are considered to be. Culture Within the silken white walls of a nest are beautiful tapestries, dyed with anything from blue Lossi blood to the rare cave flower. Aside from the slave pits, these tapestries can be found anywhere in the nest, even the peasants having homemade artworks, often detailing the history of the individual. The clothing is just as colorful, the wealthy and noble castes wearing beautiful robes of Lossi-spun, dyed silk. While all Lossi have knack for weaving, truly skilled weavers are often held in reverence. The robes of peasants is plain white with occasional streaks of color, and the slaves, lowest of all, have loincloths or more often are simply naked. Cannibalism is not uncommon in Lossi culture, though it’s frowned upon to kill someone for the sole purpose of eating them. History The Lossi are a recently-created race, born 2000 years ago in 8E when a group of High Elven mages and alchemists were making a routine study of Voshniuk. On a whim, they created the Lossi’s ancestors from the local species of spider and gave them a more humanoid body, with the intent of observing how the long-established races native to the caverns responded to this new form of life. These new spider people were initially solitary, weaving their webs in the darkest regions of the cave and feasting off whoever was caught in it, even their own. But eventually, as more and more people became aware of the lurking threat, the Lossi were backed into a corner by warriors and hunters. Faced with extinction, they banded together to form the modern-day nests, with their solitary mindset paving the way for a brutal caste system. In modern times, Lossi adventurers have been sent out to explore and establish themselves within the globes, typically the ones with a more friendly attitude. Religion Lossi religion is centered around a Sar-shi. More specifically, Mvevstiz, from the name of the Sar-shi who created them: M’westil. She is seen as having the upper body of a Sar-shi woman, with long, white hair, and the lower body of a giant spider. She wove the Lossi from her own silk, as she wove the world. Offerings of slaves are given to her, wrapped in the silk of the most skilled weaver and burned alive. Shrines are kept within private homes, where lesser offerings such as food and gems are offered. Politics The nobility of the nests are the only ones with true authority. They vote on important matters, choices often influenced by their own desires. The wealthy, commoner, and slave castes have just about no political rights, though the wealthy can sometimes persuade the nobility. Warfare Lossi are a sedentary race, preferring to trap enemies in their webs rather than hunting down prey. When forced to fight, large armies of slaves and peasants are thrown at the enemy to beat them down with sheer numbers, with the wealthy following after to mop up. A noble participating in a fight is rare, though they have been known to act as generals. Technology TBA Trivia * To the Lossi, there is no higher insult than to destroy another’s web and weave your own in it’s place. In some cases, given the size of the web and the social class of the offender and victim, this can result in agonizing execution. * Lossi blood is a dark blue color, unlike the red of many other races. Category:Races